Haryana govt to set up 4 more NDPS fast-track courts

The Haryana government has initiated the setting up of four additional NDPS fast-track courts, in addition to the six already notified and one already operational, a senior bureaucrat said on Monday.

The courts will expedite the resolution of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act cases, he said, according to an official statement, Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal said.

He said that the Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau has been compiling a comprehensive database of drug traffickers in every village in the state.

After attending the sixth apex committee meeting of the Narco Coordination Centre, or NCORD, through a video link, Kaushal said that the state government has established an advisory board to strengthen the ecosystem for combating drug abuse.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Union Home Secretary.

Kaushal said the government has been taking measures to upgrade the Haryana Forensic Sciences Laboratory.

He said steps have been taken to enhance forensic capabilities to meet emerging challenges.

These measures include the upgrade of the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Haryana, and the establishment of NDPS divisions at the four Regional Forensic Labs in Rohtak, Gurugram, Hisar, and Panchkula.

Three of these RFSLs already have functional NDPS divisions, and the fourth division will be operational at the newly sanctioned station in Panchkula, he said.

According to the statement, the Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau has prepared and circulated a detailed SOP regarding financial investigations involving drug crimes.

The Bureau has also prepared a database of property seized and forfeited under the provisions of the NDPS Act, starting from 2000, for monitoring and analysis.

Kaushal said the government has also set up an 'Inter-state Drug Secretariat' for coordination among Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Chandigarh.

The Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau has developed its own software, HAWK, for profiling drug traffickers and people accused of crimes under the NDPS Act in Haryana.

This software, in use since 2021, maintains a detailed profile of each and every accused person involved in drug trafficking, Kaushal said.